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For U.S., The Kirin Cup is Half-Full

Carli Lloyd gets a fair amount of flak from women’s soccer’s talking heads for alleged inconsistent play, but you have to hand it to her–her knack for coming through out of nowhere is beyond question. Perched in a darkened Tokyo internet cafe hacking out a post on the USWNT’s latest encounter with the Nadeshiko, I was blissfully oblivious of the oncoming typhoon until I meandered over to Twitter and spotted Lloyd’s tweet about the game schedule being “tweaked” to a 4 p.m. kickoff. To make a long, waterlogged story short, a fifty minute trip from Ueno to Chiba City turned into a three hour slog as Tokyo’s labyrinthine transit system came to a skidding halt. Stepping up to the gate at Fukuda Denshi Arena just as the FIFA Anthem began to blare over the PA system and glancing into the almost deserted stadium, it was apparent that Lloyd, once again, had played the unexpected hero. So even though Lloyd had a very solid outing against the Brazilians, I need to say up front that I just can’t bring myself to nitpick anything about her performance after that close call. Not after seeing the faces of fans who arrived at 6 p.m. to find an open gate and an empty field.

Thankfully, however, the drama of getting to the match turned out to portend little about Tuesday’s one-sided affair. As if determined to ward off drama early on, the same starting eleven from the game against Japan took the rainy pitch for the opening whistle (despite Pia Sundhage’s earlier suggestion to the contrary), and quickly went to work. Jorge Barcellos’ back line surely realized that they were in for another long afternoon when Abby Wambach dribbled her way out of trouble and sent a left-footed blast off the crossbar. The tone of the match quickly deteriorated from there, with the Brazilians racking up fouls left and right–17 free kicks in total–as they tried to muscle their opponents off the ball. Wambach appeared to be the primary target, taking some audible hits before even being able to touch an incoming pass.

The Canarinhas seemed unable to establish much of a rhythm from this strategy, and indeed it was a free kick from off a foul at the top of their defensive third that helped broke the deadlock in the 18th minute. Carli Lloyd came up big for the second time on the afternoon, driving home Buehler’s redirection of into a gaping net. And after Alex Morgan was sent sprawling on the right flank five minutes later, Shannon Boxx headed Cheney’s pseudo-corner home under Barbara’s gloves to put the U.S. in command.

Brazil also couldn’t catch a break on two glorious chances in the following minutes. In the 28th minute, Rosana found herself mere yards from goal with the ball at her feet after a long ball into the box ricocheted between her own forehead and that of Amy LePeilbet. But tangled up with LePeilbet, and with Buehler closing in, Rosana sent it a wide of the far post. Brazil came agonizingly close to salvaging the momentum seconds later when Cristiane bounced Formiga’s cross past Solo, but the goal was called back for having crossed the end-line in midair (although the replay had no good angle to confirm this). While Rosana again had a chance at the far post just before the halftime whistle, it was the U.S. that was unable to capitalize on the the best chance of the half, as a sublime Wambach pass threaded two defenders to find Heather O’Reilly charging alone into the box, only for Barbara to stuff the chance at point-blank range.

As the wind began to swirl through the arena in the second half, the U.S. offense seemed to hit a higher gear. In the 67th minute, Morgan headed in perhaps the most elegant goal of the evening off a swooping Stephanie Cox service, only to be the victim of an utterly mystifying offside call. Even though Amy Rodriguez would capitalize ten minutes from time on box chaos after yet another free kick to put the game on ice, the Kirin Cup was probably lost right there (not that the team stuck around in hopes of collecting it).

Drawing lessons from this match for either team is a difficult proposition in the absence of Marta. To state the obvious, no game plan is the same when you have to account for her spontaneity. For Barcellos’ part, his side showed that it has the ability to get some consistent service into the box–provided it can maintain possession long enough to get there. That’s a start, but it’s an open question what can be done with it if Marta isn’t there to take care of business. With the exception of Cristiane, no one else in a yellow shirt showed the patience or presence of mind to be truly deadly in front of goal. But Brazil has come close to the top of the podium several times with less to go on than that.

Far more worrying for the man in charge must be his back line’s continued struggle to communicate about much of anything. The only thing funnier than watching Wambach’s backwards header go wide was the fact that she and three teammates were onside and all alone behind a scrum of Brazilians. Even though all of the U.S.’s goals came off set pieces, their opponents seemed disorganized all evening, allowing them to move the ball toward goal with relative impunity. Aline and company’s approach seemed to rest on scrappy, one-on-one defending, and it’s tempting to dream about the scoreline had the Americans been just a little quicker to get offload the ball in those situations. For that matter, these back four also lack the speed to recover if beat. Aline could well have seen red for her takedown of Amy Rodriguez (which set up the final goal, in any case), as she was arguably the last defender between her and a straight shot at goal. Time together as a team–should their federation find some money between the sofa cushions to make that happen–will help, but the shocking errors continue to pile up with only a few months remaining until showtime.

If it’s any consolation, however, Pia Sundhage might have similar, though far less severe, worries–if, y’know, she were the sort to worry–about the defending she’s seen in this tournament. Botched clearances, in particular, continue to be a worrying trend despite the team having received the harshest possible lesson on the subject last July. Loose balls are either left to bounce around for far too long, or they’re cleared short and into the wrong hands. Though Brazil didn’t have the personnel to really take advantage of it today, the Nadeshiko do, and Marta will not be so imprecise if the ball comes her way.

Kelley O’Hara’s positioning also raises one’s blood pressure at times–she ‘s often too far upfield from trouble, and was caught too far left to bail Solo out under pressure, leading to a somewhat dangerous Formiga pick in the backfield. That said, O’Hara’s development as a left back has been accelerating quickly. Her speed masks the occasional positioning mistake well, and she shows flashes of the playmaking instinct that won her the job in the first place. Her frequent forays beyond the center line are well spent lifting a bit of the distribution burden from Cheney. Another question mark is Amy LePeilbet. Long one of the team’s best one-on-one defenders, she looks far more comfortable filling in for Ali Krieger than she ever did on the left side, and is more of a presence in the attack than we’ve seen before. Sundhage’s system relies on her doing just that, but she’s still vulnerable in a footrace, and is slow to gain control or clear the ball in a scramble. She also took down Rosana in a way that was almost reminiscent of the penalty against Sweden in the WWC. A penalty would have been quite a harsh call, but against a team known for its theatrics it would still be best avoided come London. Still, she’s the best option in Krieger’s absence, and her starting spot seems justifiably secure. Cox and Mitts acquitted themselves well, but it’s hard to imagine someone with LePellbet’s experience and developed chemistry with the rest of the line being benched in favor of one of them.

The U.S. was also able to exploit Brazil’s defensive weaknesses with its inconsistent possession game, even if they couldn’t get on the score sheet as a result. While it’s always nice to have Alex Morgan ready to split defenses on a long ball, Sundhage can hope that the patience showed in the offensive third today is a good omen. Wambach’s awareness in linking up with O’Reilly on that almost-goal is exactly that will be required this summer. And the fact of Alex Morgan was (however unjustly) not among the day’s goal scorers can only be seen as a positive step toward the versatility and depth that defines a championship caliber squad. Both have always been present, it’s just a matter of fitting the pieces together in a way that maximizes the creative possibilities. There’s much work to be done, and it’s questionable whether China or Canada can expose any more serious flaws with sufficient time to fix them. Nonetheless, we saw this team find another way to win on Tuesday–and you can never have too many of those.

Marginalia:

One fantastic benefit of watching a match in a nearly empty stadium was being able to hear everything being said on the field. It’s hard to grasp on TV just how communicative the players are with each other. Virtually no player ever touches the ball without being immediately bombarded with instructions and announcements of open passing channels. Sorting through such a massive level of input is perhaps an unsung challenge of the game at this level. Fitting with their style, though, I observed that the Brazilian players talk to each a great deal less than their American counterparts.

Hot damn, Brazil does not like the USWNT. And while the U.S. players were more composed about it, the feeling seemed to be mutual.

Sundhage followed an increasingly predictable pattern of putting Tobin Heath and Amy Rodriguez in during the second half, although Rapinoe’s appearance was a nice surprise after her conspicuous absence against Japan. What’s a shame is that none of these players have the opportunity to share the field with Heather O’Reilly. She continues to be a terror down the right flank, and the well-matched partnership between her and LePeilbet continues to evolve with great results. Rodriguez and Rapinoe each bring a great deal to the table, but neither truly replaces the opportunistic positioning and playmaking ability of O’Reilly. In the last two matches against Japan and again in this one, the well of opportunity on the right side seemed to dry up a bit in her absence.

The only field player besides Megan Klingenberg who didn’t get minutes this tournament was Lori Lindsey. Given her impressive, albeit unsuccessful, outing in the Algarve Cup against Japan, that’s regrettable. One hopes that at age 32, she’s got enough in her to stick around and compete for Shannon Boxx’s presumably vacant starting spot after the Olympics. More in an upcoming post about what to make of Sundhage’s lineup dilemma without only a few matches left before London.

A little known fact about Japan’s famously homogenous demography is that Brazilians and those of Brazilian ancestry make up one of the largest minority populations in the country. That was on full display in Chiba, as a large contingent of fans egged on the Canarinhas in Portuguese. Given that only 502 fans came out, they made their presence known. Though I noticed, walking back toward the train station after the match, that there was a Brazilian restaurant not twenty yards from stadium. The sign indicated they’d closed shop early due to “inclement weather”, which will now be my new euphemism for playing hooky to watch soccer.

The ten or so U.S. supporters who heard about the kickoff change in time went for quality over quantity, Hauling out the flags (mine was purchased in Ameyokocho Market on my way to the station), and keeping a constant stream of chants up throughout the match. Congregating in the front row, their efforts did not go unnoticed by the players. Shannon Boxx came over for a wave during a warm-up jog to start the second half, while Solo, Heath, and Lloyd did the same after the match before quickly getting of the downpour.

Just as we were ready to head out, Megan Rapinoe sauntered over to the stands in a down jacket. Without saying a word, she extracted her game-worn jersey from inside, proceeded to wipe the sweat off her face with it, and tossed it to this lucky gal before jogging back toward the tunnel:

The fans who waited by the bus were also rewarded with U.S. Soccer pennants (those exchanged by players before matches), water bottles, an appearance by Heather O’Reilly, Amy Rodriguez, and Tobin Heath, and the equipment manager tossing a pair of used cleats to the guy standing next to me. Their former owner remains a mystery (White, blue-spiked Adidas Predators? Anyone?)

16 thoughts on “For U.S., The Kirin Cup is Half-Full”

Carli Lloyd just doesn’t LEAD the team and control the midfield as well as the US Needs. She’s horrible at making that penetrating pass to the forwards. Look at her assist count for the year. There’s reasons she should be kept as a defensive mid since she better with a long pass and connecting with the defense than with the forwards. CHENEY TO REPLACE LLOYD at Offensive MID.

Forget the match for a moment: first and foremost, I have to applaud this excellent piece of writing and reporting. This is really quality stuff. My tip of the cap to Hal and All White Kit for delivering the goods for us all.

Hal mentioned an upcoming post on USWNT rosters/line-ups, and I would be very interested to see that. Lots of attention (on ESPN’s telecasts and elsewhere) has been placed on how Sundhage goes from a group of 23 or 24 down to 18 for London. Frankly, a more pressing issue is how she fits the main pieces together. The 4-2-3-1 looked a promising evolution last fall/winter, with Cheney the central playmaker, and yet Morgan must (must) start for this team. But since Morgan’s ascendance, Cheney has looked lost, at best. So how will those pieces come together?

And there are other questions: Rapinoe’s best role on this team? And will Sundhage ever again dare to field “a more technical side” (to quote John Herdman from Vancouver) and give real minutes to Lindsey and/or Sauerbrunn?

Still waiting for Brittany Bock to get her shot! Can we please see Cheney play centrally in the 4-4-2. I think she is being wasted on the outside and her skill set and talent is better suited in the CM. We lack CM players at this point and have more options to slot out wide.

Pia is only dropping from 21 WWC players to 18. The other players are not in her plans f/ London. Kreiger is one and Loyden is another (only 2 keepers on an 18 player squad). That means only 1 more player is gone from the WWC roster. My money is on Cox as the least versatile and weakest of the defenders. That allows Pia to keep all her tactical options and covers situations like Lindsay having to spell Boxx if multiple games in a short stretch gets to her. Pia will have experience, youth, and players w/ flair all at her disposal. Baring injury I think that is the London roster.

There will also be four alternates, a keeper (presumably Loyden) and three field players. However, they will get into the picture only in the event of a tournament-ending injury to one or more of the 18.

In a swedish article about Christen Press it mentioned she had been called into the next WNT camp coming up. Sounded like Pia is calling in 25. Mind you I used google translate on it, I don’t read swedish so maybe something was lost in translation, but Press sounded like she thought she at least had an outside shot of making the team so she must be getting a call in to a camp. Honestly with how little time Pia has given any of the fringe younger players I don’t understand why she is bothering unless she feels like some of the new call ins can simulate some of the opponents players they expect to face. Here is the swedish article: http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotboll/sverige/damallsvenskan/article14657787.ab

I too would love to see Bock called in, but more as a D-mid that has offensive capabilities. She covers a lot of ground and is a crunching tackler and the USWNT midfield needs some bite. Lloyds stupid, late, angry tackles don’t count and I don’t think Lloyd would be an effective D-mid, she wants to be offensive not sit in and intercept passes and then play simple to get the offense going.

Amending my London roster. Although Cheney, A-Rod, O’Hara, and even HAO give Pia forward options she needs Leroux f/ that late game role now that Morgan is a starter. Perhaps this is why Rapinoe didn’t get much time as Pia was choosing bet. Heath and A-Rod in midfield. It seems 1 midfielder from the WWC roster has to go f/ Leroux. If we don’t see any of the 21+ players in action soon we can bank on them not being part of this cycle. As Pia has stated she’s looking at building cohesion in her `1st 11 and defining the roles of the subs.

OT: I just purchased my ticket to the USA-China friendly in Chester, PA on May 27. Earlier this month Steven Goff of the Washington Post reported that 7,000 tickets had been sold in the first few days after they went on sale. (That is nearly triple the number who ponied up the last time the same two teams met at the same venue in October 2010.) I have no idea how many tickets have been sold by now, but PPL Park only seats about 18,500. (I did not get my first choice in terms of sections.)